


Vengeance

by Glitched_Nebula



Series: my AUs of other AUs, my FICS of FICS [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: ? - Freeform, Blood, Body Horror, Corvid_Knight, Demonstuck, Ghosts, Gore, Mind the Tags, POV Second Person, better safe than sorry lol, for corvid_knight, not sure if major character death is needed but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-07 15:33:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16856635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitched_Nebula/pseuds/Glitched_Nebula
Summary: "In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death."A certain Strider is known for causing deaths that are both cruel and unjust.See where this is going?Another version of this idea will be posted byCorvid_Knight!





	Vengeance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Corvid_Knight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corvid_Knight/gifts).



> Thank you to [Corvid_Knight](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1003470) for letting me steal their AU!
> 
> Also that Body Horror tag is for eye horror. If you're sensitive to that, I suggest reading something else.

For a moment, you wonder if this is the right place.

The house is normal, almost laughably so. The lawn is well-kept, with plants lining a cobbled path in a way you would dare to call thoughtful. The driveway is a little less carefully tended, with noticeable chunks missing in the pavement and a few rusty stains that you’re sure aren’t paint, and you don't miss the subtle dents in the garage door. The house itself is painted pale yellow, with a peeling white trim and black roof with a few shingles missing.

Yes, the house seems normal. But the energy… No, you aren’t mistaken. The stench of death and the blood of Strider hangs in the air. A sense of peace washes over you with the knowledge that soon this place would be cleansed of the evil that lives within.

With a sharp inhale - which you take more out of habit than necessity - you cross the threshold.

* * *

_“Maitho, I’m scared.”_

_The moon hung in the sky low and heavy, not quite full but approaching its apex. Its buttery yellow face washed the snow-laden ground in cold light._

_“Hush."_

_The voices rose from a toolshed tucked in the backyard of a slumbering family, blissfully unaware of the visitors in their shed, and of the one to come._

_Maitho pushed the hair out of his little brother’s face. At seventeen years old, he should be applying for colleges. Instead, he’s hiding._

_Of course, he didn’t blame Rufus for a second._

_The young boy whimpered in his arms. Growing pains, as Maitho learned over the past few months, right before a full moon. The seven year old’s umber eyes shut tightly, and his dark hands clenched in his older brother’s shirt. Maitho sighed and rocked the child, singing softly under his breath songs of their people. Songs that their mother would have taught Rufus herself, if Maitho had been home when the Were tore apart their home._

_Maitho sighed through his nose and continued singing._

_“Sono sethu yinyaniso?  
Sibulawayo-”_

_The door to the shack burst open. Rufus shrieked, Maitho stood and held his brother behind him. A dark figure loomed in the doorway with the moon shining behind him, casting a sort of halo around his body._

_“Who are you?”_

_The figure stepped forward, his steps slow and easy. Maitho looked around frantically, searching for a weapon, a way out, anything. Something in the man’s hand gleamed. A knife._

_Maitho cursed. Silver._

_“Don’t come any closer!” Maitho spotted a screwdriver on a pile of junk and held it in front of him. The figure chuckled, a deep and unpleasant sound that sent a shock of cold up Maitho's spine._

_“You threatenin’ me, kid?”_

_The stranger’s voice had a southern drawl as leisurely as his steps. As he drew closer, Maitho could make out the shine of his teeth in a smile that made the teen's blood run cold. Maitho tried another technique._

_“Please, sir, my brother and I aren't hurting anyone. Just leave us alone and I swear-”_

_Maitho was thrown aside, and his brother wrenched out of his grasp. Rufus opened his mouth to scream but the man clamped a hand over it tightly._

_“You tryin’ to protect this bastard? It's a fuckin’ werewolf, I can't believe you haven't tried to put it down already like the piece of shit dog it is.” Maitho watched in horror as his baby brother was held by his throat, kicking and gasping. He could make out the eyes of their attacker now as the man looked at him out the side of his shades. Bright orange. “Last chance to get out, kid. I'll exterminate this pest for you.”_

_With a roar, Maitho surged forward. Seconds stretched into hours as he lunged, watching his brother fall to the ground and crumple like a ragdoll. He didn't see the orange-eyed man move until the silver knife flashed right in front of his eyes._

_Pain exploded in his face and Maitho howled. He pressed his palms into his eyes as he stumbled backwards, feeling slick hot liquid flowing between his fingers. Through the white-hot pain in his eyes heard his brother cry out._

_“Please!” Maitho screeched, voice strained and garbled through the blood filling his mouth. “He's only seven!”_

_“It's a monster,” the man said coldly. Maitho sobbed as he heard the shaking of chains. He listened as Rufus kicked and screamed and he wondered, for the first time. why no one had heard them yet. Rufus’ screams continues to crescendo, then suddenly stopped. Maitho strained his ears to listen for his brother's breathing, and immediately regretted it when he heard a horrible wet thump._

_“You're the monster,” Maitho breathed. “You're the fucking monster.”_

_He heard the man's footsteps move closer._

_Maitho barely felt the knife enter his chest._

* * *

Today was supposed to be  _relaxing._

All permanent residents of casa de Strider are home. After the absolute  _hell _that the last week has been, you decided for everyone that the outside world could fuck itself for one day. No one is allowed to work, unless the situation absolutely demands it. You’ve declared a Striderian Holiday.__

____

So, of course, everything has to go to shit. 

____

You’re (shamelessly) snuggled up against Grey when it happens. He tenses noticeably against you. You’re about to ask what’s wrong when Dirk screams from the kitchen. Instantly you’re on your feet, pulling a sword out from under the couch and flinging yourself across the living room and to the source of the screams. Hey, when it comes to your kids, it never hurts to be prepared. 

____

There’s a kid you don’t recognize standing - no,  _floating _\- in your kitchen. Everything about him is dark; his hair, his skin, his clothes - everything but his eyes, which are pure white and surrounded by nasty-looking scars.He can’t be any older than twenty. He has one hand stretched out towards Dirk, who’s on his knees clutching his head with his mouth open in a silent scream. The kid’s expression…fuck. You can see the absolute hatred and fury etched in the lines of his face, in the way his lips pull back in a vicious snarl, in how his eyes glow with power.__

______ _ _

You realize you can see your fridge through him. 

______ _ _

“I can’t fucking see,” Dirk gasps. 

______ _ _

“How does it fucking feel?” the ghost shouts. It’s obvious that the ghost hasn’t noticed that there’s anyone else in the house. That, or he doesn’t care. You’re about to try and distract it but something flashes past you and beats you to it. After a blink, a really fucking pissed ghost is trapped in some kind of binding circle, and Karkat is checking on a passed-out Dirk. Sometimes you forget how fast that kid is. 

______ _ _

“D,” Grey whispers and puts a hand on your shoulder. You hum, and realize that almost everyone is in the kitchen. Dave had stumbled in at some point, and judging by the way he’s holding himself up with a chair you guess that whatever emotions this ghost is putting out are fucking strong. Jake and John join the growing number of people on the floor with Dirk, both looking like they want to find out if a ghost can die twice. A glance at the other doorway tells you Seb and Jr are both clinging to Hal, who also looks real fucking furious. The ghost howls, and you turn your attention back to him. 

______ _ _

“No!” You listen to his voice closer now. It has a warbly, almost reverb-like effect. It’s unnerving to listen to. “Let me out!” 

______ _ _

“No fuckin’ way,” Dave rasps. “The rage rolling off you is fucking awful, man.” 

______ _ _

The ghost  _pushes _against the barrier and hisses in pain. “Why are you defending a fucking _murderer? _”____

_________ _ _ _ _ _

“Dirk killed you?” you ask, surprised. “You probably deserved it.” 

_________ _ _ _ _ _

“ _Deserved _it?” the ghost laughs, voice rising in hysteria almost like a Shepherd Tone. It hurts to listen to. “Did my fucking _eight year-old brother _deserve to be strung up with silver chains and gutted because some Were turned him? Did _I _deserve to be blinded protecting him and stabbed through the heart, but not before being forced to hear him screaming for me to save him?” Seeing a ghost cry does weird things to your stomach. The tears seem to take a physical form, turning into a silvers trail of liquid before dropping onto the tile and sizzling out of existence. Ice creeps up your spine.______

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dirk wouldn’t do that. 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The ghost's voice turns cold and deadly. “Rufus didn’t hurt anyone! If you think we deserved that, I’ll fucking kill you too.” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The room falls silent. 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“That wasn’t Dirk,” Dave says quietly, confirming your guess and forcing you to swallow back puke. “That was Bro.” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The ghost slams a fist against the binding circle. “Don’t lie to me! I know those orange eyes! 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Dirk’s basically a clone of the guy who killed your brother,” you say, voice shaking ever so slightly. “Bro, the one who killed you guys? He’s already dead.” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The ghost searches our face. Slowly, his expression shifts from anger to horror. “You’re telling the truth.” You nod and he digs the heels of his hands into his eyes. “No, fuck!”“Tell me to shut the fuck up if I’m wrong,” Karkat starts. Oh boy, that’s a good sign. “But if your goal was to kill that festering sack of shit, shouldn’t your soul be ‘at peace’ or something? Shouldn’t you be like, gone?” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Shut the fuck up,” he replies dryly. “My ‘goal’ was to get vengeance. An eye for an eye and all that shit. But since I can’t kill him myself, and I’m not about to kill this guy for no fucking reason, my soul isn’t going to be ‘resting’ any time soon. Fuck!” It’s almost comical the way he floats down and sits on the floor, pulling his knees into his chest. 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“So, now what?” Grey asks coolly. “Will Dirk regain his sight?” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Shit, you hadn’t even thought of that, of what you would do if your little brother ended up permanently blind. 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. I don’t have the power to blind him forever. Plan was to hit his pain receptors until he died of shock but you bound me before I could finish.” The ghost sighs, frustrated. “As for me, I’m going to be wandering the plane of the living forever, or until I get fulfillment some other way.” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

That’s real fucking sad. The thought of wandering aimlessly without purpose and without your family… it just about breaks your heart. Shit, that gives you an idea! 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“What’s your name, kid?” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He gives you a strange look. “Maitho.” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You got a last name?” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He shakes his head. “Can’t remember.” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Well kid,” you grin, “You’re now Maitho Strider. We’ll help you find your place in this world.” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He doesn’t respond for a for moment, expression unreadable. Your face falls. Shit, what made you think he would want to join the family that killed his?  _You’re so stupid-_

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You mean it?” His face is wary, but hopeful. 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Relieved, an easy smile overtakes your features. You step forward and break the binding circle. 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Welcome to the family.” 

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Identity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16864633) by [Corvid_Knight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corvid_Knight/pseuds/Corvid_Knight)




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